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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third-largest wireless carrier, might be a household name, but Wall Street analysts say the company needs to do a better job of setting itself apart from competitors.

The Reston telecommunications company, which plans to release third-quarter earnings Oct. 26, has had trouble adding subscribers since Sprint Corp. bought Nextel Communications Inc. last year in a $36 billion deal.

The company added 708,000 retail subscribers in the second quarter, compared with industry leaders Verizon Wireless at 1.8 million and Cingular Wireless at 1.5 million. Analysts attribute Sprint Nextel's lackluster performance to factors stemming from the acquisition.

"The weakness in the Nextel business is probably the primary reason,"

said Christopher King, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., who has a "hold" rating on the company.